The act of convincing a probate court that a will document is the authorized will of a deceased person. This is usually a formality where an executor or administrator shows the court the will which should have been signed and dated by the deceased person in the presence of two or more witnesses. A holographic will (hand written and unwitnessed) can be introduced in many states and validate if the executor can produce relatives and friends who can testify that the handwriting belongs to the deceased person.